Empire Builder
View allAll Photos Tagged Builders
Great blue herons don't mate for life, but they do have elaborate courtship rituals that help pairs form strong bonds. Their mating displays include bill snapping, neck stretching, moaning calls, preening, circular flights, twig shaking, twig exchanging, crest raising and even bill duels. Scuffles over females are common, but never end in death. Once their complex dance is finished, the male and the female heron will have the strong bond necessary to raise their hatchlings together.
Source: Sciencing
I couldn't resist enhancing his muscles in editing when I saw the pose and tough guy expression he gave me.
Another dormant pub. My local as well. Nice atmosphere, great beer and food plus a spacious garden at the rear. Soon I hope!!
We have finally seen some snow in southern Wisconsin, making it look and feel a little more like winter. Here on the north side of Watertown, Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder kicks up the powder a little after just crossing over from 2 main to the single track main at Watertown West.
Amtrak 8
AMTK 130,140,133
Watertown, WI.
January 23, 2022
Yes...I know it's another Goldfinch....but how could I refuse to take her portrait when she'd been so industrious,and posed Soooo close to me, and, with a gorse bush as her back drop....Delightful...!
Worth viewing large...she deserves it after all her hard work, thanks.
Osprey Everglades.
No post-processing done to photo. Nikon NEF (RAW) files available. NPP Straight Photography at noPhotoShopping.com
Number 7, The Empire Builder heads westward on the Glasgow Sub with a couple of extra motors. On this trip west, the train was terminated at Glasgow Montana due to avalanche related issues on Marias Pass. The eastbound Empire Builder, #8 picked up the cars and power at Glasgow, and brought the whole consist eastward, with the ultimate destination of Chicago. Passenger service across the northern transcon is currently suspended until the avalanche dangers have passed on Marias.
A late-running Amtrak No. 8, the Empire Builder, cruises through Grizzly, Montana, on December 23, 1998. The train is leaving the snow-covered Rocky Mountains of Glacier National Park behind on this extremely cold day. Leading the silvery Superliner is an all-GE consist, led by warbonnet-clad BNSF No. 761, with P40DCs (822, 808, 817) in three different paint schemes trailing.
After crossing a snowy Marias Pass, Amtrak’s eastbound Empire Builder curves through Grizzly, Montana, on a cold December 22, 1998.
The previous day's eastbound Empire Builder rolled through about an hour ahead of this Christmas day scheduled eastbound Builder. Nothing special about this train other than it's Christmas day passengers traveling by rail, as it should be.
Amtrak Number 8
AMTK 165,19,154
Watertown, WI.
December 25, 2021
Another winter snowfall and brings another late Empire Builder on its trip back to Chicago. Siemens ALC-42 Chargers 302 and 310 are about 5 hours late into the Twin Cities and should arrive at St. Paul Union Deport within the half hour.
Full Youtube video at:
Hunting Great Blue Herons wade slowly or stand statue-like, stalking fish and other prey in shallow water or open fields. Watch for the lightning-fast thrust of the neck and head as they stab with their strong bills. Their very slow wingbeats, tucked-in neck and trailing legs create an unmistakable image in flight.
Great Blue Herons have a long back toe that helps them to grab onto branches to sit in trees and to nest in them. They build sturdy stick nests. Most of them nest in colonies of a few to hundreds of pairs, but some Great Blue Herons are more territorial and nest far from others. No one understands why some are so much more solitary than others.
Sources: Cornell Lab of Orthinology
Pennington
I've made a little decorative birdhouse that's hanging near the front door of my house that's been popular over the years.
-A few years ago, some chickadees checked it out a lot, but didn't move in.
-The next year it got invaded by yellow-jackets.
-This year it has attracted a pair of Bewick's wrens.
Of course the houses I've built specifically for wrens, in ideal locations/heights/etc. so far have had no visitors.
The day is about done, as Amtrak's westbound Empire Builder races out of Watertown with a stand of beautiful maples providing the backdrop.
Amtrak 7
AMTK 150,11
Watertown, WI.
Autumn 2019
It's a gorgeous day upon the grassy knoll, as Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder races along just east of their Columbus station stop, running only twenty minutes behind today.
Amtrak Number 8
AMTK 130,52
Columbus, WI.
June 4, 2021
Strange looks as I lay flat on the forecourt of the Petrol Station/Cafe in the middle of Pelkosenniemi to capture this group of House Martins (and some Swallows) collecting nest-building mud from a small puddle at the edge of the car park.
Martin_House_2024_R5_5_45A8239
The previous day, Amtrak zipped through town missing the 5 car Seattle section of the train. That section (led by AMTK 307) smashed a tree west of Spokane and was towed back to Seattle and added to the next day's train. (307 was left behind)
Led by 3 differently painted Amtrak locomotives, an unusually big 14-car Empire Builder flies through town with temperatures just barely hitting +10.
Of course, in 2022, I would have much rather shot AMTK 301 ("Day 1") leading. But I feel like in several years when the GEs are gone or hard to find I'll feel differently about catching a bloody Genesis 45 leading.
Winds kept the Becker plant steam away from the sun but also chilled the bones stepping outside to get the shot.
AMTK 45
AMTK 301
AMTK 303
Years ago, before double track, there was a tree that blocked the billboard and was a better photo prop. Granted the billboard has changed recently, but I still miss the tree.
The Empire Builder at MP 322, cruising along the Mississippi River at track speed on a beautiful day.
Builder's plate for an operational 0-4-0 Porter steam locomotive built in 1889.
Shot for Our Daily Challenge :“Plate”
How about a little look into the past? Here you can see Loket Castle, which is located in the small town of Loket in the Czech Republic.
The castle has been extensively restored and is definitely worth a visit. The oldest parts of the complex date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. So a real medieval castle. The builder could be a minister of the famous Emperor Frederick 1st Barbarossa.
It is an impressive building and photogenic too.
Wie wäre es mit einem kleinen Blick in die Vergangenheit ? Hier seht Ihr die Burg Elbogen, die sich im kleinen Ort Loket in Tschechien befindet.
Die Burg ist sehr aufwendig restauriert und auf jedem Fall eines Besuch wert. Die ältesten Teile der Anlage stammen bereits aus dem 12. und 13. Jahrhundert. Also eine echte Mittelalter Burg. Der Erbauer könnte ein Minister des berühmten Kaisers Friedrich I. Barbarossas sein.
Ein beeindruckendes Gemäuer und fotogen ist es auch noch.
more of this on my website at: www.shoot-to-catch.de
Second build in my Iron Builder round against Caleb (Cheesie), with the Minecraft Trident in sand green as a seed part.
The seed part was used 10 times.
Stalagtite/stalagmite design by Thorsten Bonsch.
SSC - Triangles
This is rather a literal interpretation of the theme. Don't look too closely or you will see the celotape holding it all together! Giving me the title.
On a cold and clear Thanksgiving Day, Amtrak train No. 8, the Empire Builder, heads east across the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, leaving the jagged mountains of Glacier National Park in its rearview mirror.
Five days after shooting this Empire Builder consist on August 5th, it is again making another round trip on the route from Chicago to the west coast on August 10th. Some strange dispatching delayed the Builder's route into the Minnesota Commercial and down the CP Merriam Park Subdivision to Union Depot.
Eighth and final build in my Iron Builder round against Loïc, with the Technic rotation joint cylinder in med. azure as a seed part.
The seed part was used ten times... But can you spot any other seed parts from previous rounds?